Last games could let Flyers Danny Briere beef up résumé

VOORHEES, N.J. -- With three games remaining against Eastern Conference playoff contenders, the Flyers might feel they can play a part in the playoff fate of those respective teams, beginning with the Boston Bruins tonight at Wells Fargo Center.

Of course, the players might have another reason or two why they'd be so motivated for this game and the other two left on the schedule for their forgettable 2013 season.

"There's two things you look at," Danny Briere said after a long Monday practice. "That you can spoil it for other teams or help different teams (in the standings). And the other thing is the pride. It's your job. And it doesn't matter where we are, we still have to play hard."

For Briere, 35, there is one other reason to be motivated for these three games, of course. He's playing for his future.

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The Flyers will almost certainly either trade Briere or use a compliance buyout on him to get his $6.5 million cap hit off their books for next season.

Hurt by a wrist injury suffered before the start of the season while he was playing in Germany and by a concussion suffered in mid-March that kept him out nearly a month, Briere has gone without a goal for the past 18 games. He has five goals and 15 points and is a minus-15 in 31 games this season.

While the decision makes perfect sense from a numbers standpoint, it doesn't come easily considering how Briere is a class act, a leader in the locker room and has a history of consistently coming up big once the playoffs start.

Of course, they don't have to worry about that this year. But a playoff miss in what likely is his last season in Philadelphia certainly won't keep Briere from doing his job.

"You have to be able to look at yourself in the mirror and say, 'We didn't make the playoffs, we didn't have a great year. But at least I didn't cut it short.' I played hard until the end, and you can live with that."

With Boston in town, it gives the Flyers a chance to play against their former top-line educator Jaromir Jagr, who signed in the offseason with Dallas and accepted a trade to Boston at the deadline.

"For us, I think we were playing with a legend," Briere said about the impact of Jagr's 2011-12 season in Philadelphia. "I feel fortunate that I'm able to say I played with Jaromir Jagr for one year in my career. It's pretty cool to say that when you look at all he accomplished, his name being atop the scoring list almost everywhere. It was an honor to play with him, and to understand why he was one of the top hockey players to ever play the game."

Late-season addition Kent Huskins, a pending unrestricted free agent who's not expected to be re-signed, will apparently have a chance to play a little more with the Flyers.

Huskins practiced Monday even though he's just one week removed from being knocked out cold during a game in Montreal.

"It's a funny thing with concussions. I feel pretty lucky because I haven't had the symptoms that other guys have experienced," Huskins said. "It's kind of day-to-day ... waiting to see how I feel. You always want to take that precaution and monitor yourself. But yeah, I feel good today. I'll just see how things go the rest of the week."

Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said Monday that Huskins passed concussion tests but indicated that he thinks Huskins needs a couple of practice days to see how he responds.

"I don't think he's an option (Tuesday against Boston)," Holmgren said, "but maybe in the last two games."

Huskins, 33, a seldom used Detroit defenseman who came over from the Red Wings for a conditional pick, played well in a half-dozen games for the Flyers before Montreal's Ryan White put a shoulder into his jaw last week. White was hit with a five-game suspension as a result.

Asked if he felt an urgency to return so quickly because of his uncertain future beyond this week, Huskins said, "There's an urgency to play because that's what players do. They want to play."

NOTES: The Flyers will hold a special pre-game ceremony tonight before the Bruins game in honor of the bombing and shooting victims in the greater Boston area. Said Briere: "It was terrible. You don't wish anybody would go through that. We all feel it." ... Look for Ilya Bryzgalov to be in net as Peter Laviolette continues his alternating goalie routine.